Learn something new today!

Just ordered a copy (autographed of course) of Dr. Barry Franklin and Joe Piscatella's new book:  Prevent, Halt and Reverse Heart Disease - looking forward to reading it.  Have enjoyed the research of Dr. Franklin and the writings of Joe Piscatella for many years.  I'm a true believer in prevention - and it is never to late to begin YOUR prevention program. 

Remember sometimes ya just have to force yourself to make the right choices, and other times it's a snap.  The more you succeed, the snappier things Become.

Lose Weight & Keep it off Today...

The ability to successfully and healthfully lose weight and keep it off forever is possible – even if you have tried and failed numerous times over your lifetime.  You possess the ability to lose weight and keep it off, and it lies deep WiTHIN You Now!™  It is time to STOP looking on the outside for somebody or something to do it for you, stop blaming everything and everyone except yourself… and Become successful.  If you want to achieve a healthy, attractive body weight and stay that way forever, you can and you will, by turning your attention inward, gaining control of your own thoughts, identifying and extinguishing outside control and influence, and finally allowing your true inner strength to emerge and work for you.  Achieving a healthy, attractive body weight forever involves the realization of hard truths, inward and outward tough love and a goal. 

Start today, Start Now, YOU have the inner strength, energy and power to succeed...Stay tuned for more..SHD

Don't Weight to empty your fat bucket!

I know its tempting....but don't do it!  Don't weight for January to "take it off"!  Today is the best day to begin a lifetime of weight management......STOP PUTTING IT OFF AND START TAKING IT OFF!

I overheard an overweight woman at a holiday party announce"  "It's coming off next year".  I couldn't help but think......."REALLY"?!?  What makes next year any different than today?  Do you mean to tell me that suddenly things will just start to click - you'll start managing your every meal and snack?  Suddenly your problems with binging, over-indulging, and your "to heck with it" attitude will disappear?  Suddenly the new year will bring some sort of magical thing that will allow you to exercise daily, face challenging food situations and win? Or maybe you're planning a stomach surgery and that is going to take care of everything?   I think not. 

Convince yourself that losing weight and keeping it off is your first and most important priority by following a healthy lifestyle today......next year brings no magic.  The magic is WiTHIN You Now!™

Thanks to HealthHabits@Twitter for this article. Click on this article for some holiday hints: http://www.healthhabits.ca/2010/12/23/3-tips-avoid-christmas-party-pig-out/

Addicted to food?

Clink on this link http://dld.bz/Cmc5  and check out this article regarding how the chemicals in our body and brain lead us down the fat bucket pathway......  let me know what you think!

What Motivates You?

Just the sound of the word "motivation" is exciting, especially when associated with anything to do with weight loss and keeping weight off.  Motivation seems some magical "thing" that just happens and makes us want to do something.  Unfortunately, motivation is difficult to come by and one must be truly motivated to even put in the work required to find their own motivation (especially the weight loss and keeping weight off type of motivation). Truth be known, we are more often than not driven more by what I call....  "The Anti-Motivation", spending much time thinking of ways NOT to do things, such as diet and exercise and all the boring, nasty things we must actually get ourselves motivated to do to lose weight and keep it off - excuses, excuses, excuses. We somehow find the motivation to dream up some amazing excuses!

"Motivation" is the carrot, the prize, the incentive that triggers the GO chemicals in our brain.  For millions, the prospect of stomach surgery can get the GO chemicals going with thoughts of rapid weight loss clouding any reasonable thought process required to think through this potentially life changing procedure. For those about to receive this magical knifing, the motivation to lose initial weight and attend any number of counseling sessions as required by the insurance company is NO PROBLEM!  Just think -  suddenly thinness - all weight problems gone (there's the carrott).  The bad news....where are those wondrous GO chemicals three years post op when the weight starts looming once again?? (Gee, maybe I should have taken off my surgery goggles and listened more closely in those classes).

If you're serious about weight loss and weight management...think about what motivates you - think about what might motivate you -reflect upon a time in your life when you were truly motivated.  Conjure up ways to get yourself inspired to reach for the carrot.  Imagine yourself motivated and  allow your brain to find those GO chemicals and get them surging through your body.  Be a kid again and play pretend if you're blocking....BE motivated, believe it and keep going and going and going - it will save your life.  With motivation and those GO chemicals on your side.....the low fat, low calorie, healthy diet is the easy part.

Weight Loss Surgery & Supplements

Without the proper tools, weight loss surgery of any type does not work in the long run.  Weight loss surgeries usually benefit only the surgeons.  Also, any advertisements regarding weight loss supplements - I do not support.

Dr. Stacey A. Hilton-Davis

Tweeting thru the Holidays

The World of Twitter is now upon us all.  Zillions of resources - try it - I have. Follow me on Twitter @drhiltondavis. 

If you are interested in my Psychological self-therapy.....WiTHIN You Now!™........stay tuned.  Guaranteed to help you with the challenges of weight management.

WiTHIN You Now!™........my book is in progress - you will LOVE!!

Rainy days, food & money

Rainy days are great days to dust off your exercise videos, put your mat down and move....stretch, Yoga, and little cardio.  Then, before a hot bath, Google a healthy, low fat veggie soup recipe, run to the store thru the raindrops and get the fixins'. Enjoy some down time if you can, enjoy the Season, watch White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Vera Ellen and know you don't have to ever be THAT skinny...

Hint:  Save $600.00/year, buy the necessary tools ($100.00 at most) and give yourself your own manicures and pedicures.  After 5 years you will have saved $3,000.00.  You may need the extra cash one day.

Leave your hair to the pros....please.

Weight Loss Surgery

Just as obesity has rocketed over the past 30 years, weight loss surgeries have made the same incredible surge.  Regardless of the "type" of weight loss surgery choosen, the results are similar:  An immediate and sharp decrease in body weight due to an immediate and sharp decrease in food intake.  The good news is that this decrease in body weight lowers many risk factors for heart disease, cancer and depression. The bad news is that if the work has not been done prior to the surgery to put into place a lifetime behavior modification plan, the weight begins to creep back on leaving the surgery recipient exactly in the same shape they were prior to surgery - overweight, unhealthy and unhappy.
Most surgery centers require patients to attend classes and counseling prior to surgery as well as "getting back on track" classes. Yet for many, attending these classes is only a "going through the motions" activity. Clearly, for a large percentage of surgery candidates, the pre and post surgery counseling and education does not meet their needs.
Weight loss surgery is only successful if it results in lifetime weight management.  Dropping 100 pounds for fifteen minutes followed by weight gain is not success - it is sad and very dangerous.  Attending a class to "get back on track" after the surgery may be too late.
If you are considering weight loss surgery, don't fall into the trap of feeling as though you are the one who "won't put the weight back on".  Understand that once the novelty of the surgery wears off and your appetite comes back, you will be faced with the same challenges that led you into obesity.  Understand that weight loss is a very small aspect of weight management, and without serious behavior modification tools to help you through the rest of your life, success will be only a dream.
Stay tuned to my column for behavior modification tools that will help you today and tomorrow - with or without weight loss surgery.

My published article on "Examiner.com"

I am proud to say this article was published recently on "Examiner.com" for which I am a "Local Examiner"... Log on and take a look at this very cool on-line newspaper...

Men and women alike seek to achieve the “Six Pack” - those chiseled abs that symbolize sex appeal, self-control, and hours in the gym.  Yet recent research indicates that more than 50% of US adults have abdominal obesity or “belly fat” and millions of dollars are spent on diets and potions that promise results with little to no avail.  So, the question remains, is there a well-researched, scientific way to “target” and burn belly fat with the foods we eat?   The good news is that the answer is YES!  Visceral fat, the kind tucked deep inside your waistline, is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have plenty of it.  Eating a diet rich in whole grains while reducing refined carbohydrates changes the glucose and insulin responses and makes it easier to mobilize those belly fat stores.

In a nutshell, try adding foods to your diet that contain the whole grain kernel such as brown rice, oatmeal and popcorn (without butter of course) and reducing foods from your diet that have been processed by machinery that strips the bran and germ from the whole grain such as white rice and pasta made with white flour.  Along with your regular exercise program and a focused mindset, this diet modification promises to produce true results and a healthier you.

Women only gyms and spas???

A recent article in the HEALTHBEAT section of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune ran an article on Women only gyms and spas (such as Curves and others).  One of the experts quoted said: "The majority of obese women in the US are intimidated to visit mixed gender fitness clubs."  The expert also stated that "women only health clubs have provided a solution for many of these women".......define solution please?!?  Yes, there are no men in these types of gyms.....but after the initial joining buzz, do women really stick with them?  My research says NO.  Sticking with any gym, no matter how amazing, no matter how wonderful means SHOWING UP AT LEAST 3 TO 5 TIMES A WEEK FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

For those of you who DO get to the gym 3 to 5 times a week (ALWAYS AND I MEAN YEARS GIRLS)....GREAT and we love, respect and admire you!!  For those of you who just don't dig gyms or organized exercise of any nature...you are in luck and we love, respect and admire you too!!  YOU DON'T NEED A GYM TO EXERCISE!!  Below is a list of necessary items for regular exercise both cardio and resistance:

1. Good walking Shoes - (I know you have these)
2. A neighborhood or high school track - (I know you have one or both of these)
3. 3, 5, and 10 lb dumb bells ($25.00 max)..these have a "life time guarantee - no renewal fee"
4. A Theraball (for every type of exercise imaginable)...($10.00 max)
5. TIME IN YOUR WEEK AT LEAST 3 TO 5 ONE HOUR TIME SLOTS NOT TO BE INTERRUPTED BY PEER/FAMILY SABOTAGE
6. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to just DO IT!!  Bite the bullet and it will be so nice when you are done and in the shower feeling great!

Burning Belly Fat

50% of all Americans have middle obesity - belly fat - nice.  So, the question is this:  Is there a well-researched, scientific way to “target” and burn belly fat with the foods we eat?   The good news is that the answer is YES!  Visceral fat, the kind tucked deep inside your waistline, is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have plenty of it.  Eating a diet rich in whole grains while reducing refined carbohydrates changes the glucose and insulin responses and makes it easier to mobilize those belly fat stores.  So it all boils down to regular exercise and a low fat, low calorie diet rich in whole grains.  Isn't a great looking "Six Pack" worth it??

Honor Your Body, Mind and Spirit

If you are tired, rest.  If you cannot sleep, figure out why.  If you are stressed, confide in a trusted friend.  If you have not exercised today, do so (even a little).  If you are hungry, feed yourself with healthy foods but think before you eat.  If an acquaintance is getting under your skin, confront and solve. If you have not planned your next three meals, do so.  If you have not meditated, listened to music or danced this week, do so.

Honor Your Body, Mind and Spirit - don't leave them untouched.

Another Target!

Get brave, get creative, get CRAZY!!!  Set a small goal of losing one pound by January 1, 2011.  You can do it.  Buy a good scale (doesn't have to be pricey), get on it, write down your weight today and weigh yourself everyday until January, 2011.  Just ONE POUND!!  Remember, you need to burn 3,500 calories and not replace them to lose one pound.  Start the new year off right - LIGHTER than last year.

Be safe over the weekend....

Target Visualization

Target Visualization

Even more important than educating yourself on the appropriate amount of calories, fats, carbs, proteins and vitamins you need daily - is putting into action a daily dose of "Target Visualization".  Take a few moments each day to "see" (in your mind's eye) yourself as fit, healthy, and successful!!!  Keep that picture (or Target) in your mind at all times as you face your daily challenges, choices and decisions in meal planning and preparations. 

When faced with one of those OH NO!!! situations of temptation coupled with hunger, close your eyes and picture a big red STOP sign.....then allow your inner strength and power to touch every cell in your body.  This Target Visual will give you the energy to turn your back on the temptation and seek a healthier choice.

Even with the BEST diet plan in the world, without ammunition - those moments of weakness will over take your good intentions. "Target Visuals" will give you better and more accurate aim as you shoot for your goals!